“It’s that time of the year again,” Luna said.
“What time is that?” asked Dan.
“Time to look at all the BBAAers that we could get.”
“Remind me again what BBAA means.”
Luna sighed. “Building Better Alternatives in Agriculture. It’s basically a way that kids that want to learn how to grow stuff can see the world.”
“Free labor for us,” Dan said.
“Yeah,” Luna said. “Free labor. And we’ve already had one applicant. Someone named Humbug.”
“Humbug.”
“Yep,” Luna said. “Sent in a nice looking resume. Seems to know a lot about plants. So I sent out an invitation to come here.”
“And did Humbug accept?”
“Humbug accepted. Humbug will be here at the end of the week.”
“Hey, this is something to look forward to. I can’t wait.”
“You can’t wait?” Luna looked puzzled. “What can’t you wait for?”
Dan smiled. “I can’t wait to introduce Humbug to Sowbug.”
*
It was actually a little over a week before Humbug arrived. Humbug turned out to be a young guy of about sixteen years old.
“I really want to learn to farm,” he told Luna and Viv.
“Have you had any experience growing things?” Viv asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “We have a garden at home and I helped out in it a bunch. I like to take care of plants and grow things. I’d have done more except my older sister was really bossy and wanted to do everything.”
“We’ll need your parent’s permission for you to be here if you’re under eighteen,” Luna said.
“I don’t think that will be a problem,” Humbug said, although he looked a little nervous. “My mom knew I was coming here and I’m sure she’ll give you permission.”
“Well, we do need to ask,” Luna said. “You’re okay if we call her?”
“No problem,” Humbug said. “I’ll write down the number.”
“Okay,” Luna said. “I’ll call her this afternoon. Are you sure you’re okay with tenting?”
“Yeah, our family went camping a lot. I’m used to living in a tent.”
“Have you got a tent?”
“Not really,” Humbug said. “I left in a hurry and didn’t pack a lot.”
“I wouldn’t worry,” Viv said. “I think we have a spare tent or two around here. I’ll help you find one when we’re done.”
“Well, I think we’re about done,” said Luna. “Do you have any questions for us or anything that you think you’ll need help with?”
“Not that I can think of,” Humbug said. He still looked nervous and seemed to want the interview to be over.
Luna was about to end it when Marge came in.
“Excuse me,” she said. “But your new BBAAer is here.”
“New BBAAer?” Luna asked.
“Yeah,” Marge said. “She says her name is Humbug.”
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